Field emission property of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with different carbon sources in a fluidized bed reactor Original Research Article

The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesized at various reaction conditions (reaction temperature, gas environment, and the ratio of mixture gas) using catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) in a fluidized bed reactor have quite different properties according to their tube diameter and crystallinity. Macroscopic field emission properties of the CNT film have been determined by a vacuum field emission system that displays the integrated field emission using a phosphor ITO-glass screen. Field emission properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) depend on their electrical conductivity and structural quality such as the tube diameter and crystallinity (ID/IG). The smaller the mean diameter and the higher the crystallinity of the CNTs, the better the field emission properties could be achieved.